Chapter 254: Chapter 139: See Oneself, See the World, See All Beings
’To eliminate all threats in the universe with the sword in hand... is that not, in itself, a form of ultimate serenity?’
This insight, combined with Heart as a Mirror, Rhythm of Life, Great Dream of Thousand Years, and Bright Mirror Stilled Water - Ripples, granted Zhong Ming an exceptionally terrifying ability.
While gaining this novel insight, and while the afterglow of his epiphany still lingered, he further developed the Longxi Sword Dao - Mirror Heart Demon Slayer.
This was a necessary step. After reaching the Master Realm, the help of one’s predecessors becomes minimal if one wishes to advance further. To ascend to the rank of Grandmaster, one must forge their own path. Only by incorporating one’s own unique insights could one be worthy of the title "Grandmaster."
This was especially true because Longxi Peak was not particularly strong, and Zhong Ming’s progress had long since surpassed the constraints of the Longxi Sword Dao. This meant he had no choice but to develop it himself.
Fortunately, the knowledge from his past life kept his mind flush with inspiration, and the afterglow of his epiphany allowed Zhong Ming’s Heart Soul to process thoughts hundreds, even thousands of times faster than an ordinary person.
In a short amount of time, he had actually managed to deduce two advanced paths for the Longxi Sword Dao - Mirror Heart Demon Slayer.
’The first path is through causality, or to put it more scientifically, the path of quantum mechanics. Since I can use my Heart Lake as a mirror to reflect the images of others, then if my understanding of the Dao of causality is deep enough, I can attack the reflection in my Heart Lake to directly harm my enemy’s true body—or even annihilate them completely!’
If he achieved Great Success in this method, Zhong Ming’s attacks could truly be described as a sword strike born from the sea of the heart—impossible to defend against, impossible to counter, and utterly terrifying.
And this was genuinely achievable.
Especially since Zhong Ming had some knowledge of quantum theory, such as the principle of quantum entanglement.
’No matter the distance, when the state of one quantum particle changes, the other will instantly "sense" it and change accordingly. This faster-than-light interaction makes my idea of attacking the body through its reflection truly feasible.’
Causality and quantum mechanics—this was one path of advancement.
The other, Zhong Ming called Unity of Heaven and Man.
’After "seeing heaven and earth," I can reflect the scenery of the natural world into my Heart Lake. Then, using the power of Great Dream of Thousand Years, I can project the scenes recorded in my Heart Lake into a dreamscape. Finally, by leveraging my ability as a Dream Dominator, I can become the autumn wind, the bright moon, the mountains and rivers themselves.’
’But can this be reversed? Or, better yet, linked!’
’Using my power as a Dream Dominator, I can merge my consciousness with the dreamscape’s natural scenery in a state between waking and sleeping—this is the "sleep" part!’
’And the "waking" part is projecting my state within the dream back into my Heart Lake, and from there, reversing the "seeing heaven and earth" process to "let heaven and earth see me"—a me who is one with all the phenomena of the world.’
There’s a saying: no matter how powerful you are in a dream, it’s all an illusion.
But if Zhong Ming could achieve what he envisioned, his power in the dream world would no longer be an illusion like a flower in a mirror or the moon in the water. It would be something he could project into reality.
’I have glimpsed the path to Grandmaster for the Longxi Lineage!’
At this point, the benefits from Zhong Ming’s breakthrough were completely exhausted.
Just as he was about to open his status panel to check the specific changes to his [Mirror Heart Demon Slayer], especially its second-level trait, a shout suddenly rang out from the distance.
"Zhong Ming! It’s your turn!"
"Hm?"
The arrogant and unrestrained shout made Zhong Ming turn his head to look.
Then, a figure clad in sinister, black armor entered Zhong Ming’s vision.
At that moment, the man was wreathed in raging, purple-black flames of energy. Waves of violent, terrifying pressure radiated from him as if they were tangible, causing the surrounding air, wind, and rain to ripple.
Not far from him, a figure Zhong Ming found vaguely familiar lay miserably on the ground, bathed in blood—it was none other than Zhu Junfeng of the Void Moon Sect.
This sudden and bizarre scene, coupled with the daze from just having emerged from his epiphany, made Zhong Ming subconsciously ask, "Who are you?"
"..."
The moment he spoke, the wild aura around Mingya faltered, and the air seemed to freeze solid.
But in the next moment, an endless torrent of wild, blazing purple-black energy erupted from his body. A ferocious, terrifying smile spread across his face. "Who am I? HAHAHA, Zhong Ming, you really dare to treat me as if I’m nothing!"
"But that ends now. Soon, I will make you remember the name Mingya, carving it into your very bones! You will never forget this memory for all of eternity."
"Of course, all of this is on the condition that you can survive long enough to see that moment!"
Though enraged, he didn’t answer Zhong Ming’s question. But Zhong Ming already knew what had transpired around him during his period of enlightened advancement.
This was related to [My Heart and My Will, Clear as a Mirror]. It had reflected the entire surrounding environment into Zhong Ming’s heart.
Of course, that alone was not enough for Zhong Ming to understand the full cause and effect.
But when Zhong Ming had wanted to investigate his surroundings, in addition to [My Heart and My Will, Clear as a Mirror], his [Bright Mirror Stilled Water - Ripples], [Candlelight Heart Eye], [Mind Reading], [Immersion], [Eternal Flame], and other skills and traits had instantly linked together, forming a flawless system of insight.
There wasn’t much to say about [My Heart and My Will, Clear as a Mirror]. Functioning as a ’Heart as a Mirror,’ it reflected the entirety of the surroundings into Zhong Ming’s heart.
[Bright Mirror Stilled Water - Ripples] expanded the boundaries of his insight and deepened the layers of his perception. [Mind Reading] treated the mirrored scene like a grand tome of the Dao, interpreting its profound mysteries. [Candlelight Heart Eye] provided immense energy and a boost to his Personhood, shattering all illusions.
